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Services

Services offered by the library

Library Instruction Policy

Library information literacy instruction is embedded in all First Year Inquiry (FYI) courses and supports learning across the curriculum, including Senior Inquiry and at the graduate level. Instructors may contact the Thomas Tredway Library to arrange library instruction for their course(s) for any point in the term. To request library instruction sessions, please contact your liaison librarian; to request Special Collections sessions, please review the Special Collections Class Instruction page and complete the Instruction Request form.

Please note:

  • For FYI courses, your designated librarian partner will reach out before the start of the term to share resources and arrange library sessions.
  • To reserve a library space (including the 4th floor computer lab) without librarian instruction, please contact your liaison librarian to ensure the space is available. If you do not have a reservation, we reserve the right to ask you to leave.
  • Other instructional materials, including online tutorials and research guides, are available on the library website. If you would like to request an online tutorial or a course-specific research guide be created for your course, please contact your liaison librarian and be prepared to share information regarding the goals or content areas for the resource. 
  • Librarians do not offer general library orientation sessions outside of FYI and LSC classes.

As you schedule and plan your session with your librarian partner, please keep the following in mind:

  • A 2 week minimum notice is needed for Tredway librarians to plan sessions involving information literacy, research instruction, and/or Special Collections materials. A 1 week minimum notice is needed to plan research workshops without formal instruction. Requests that do not meet these minimum notices will be renegotiated to allow sufficient planning time.
  • Library sessions are designed to correspond to a specific assignment or to a clearly-defined learning outcome of the course. Please communicate proactively with your librarian partner to share relevant information about related assignments and course outcomes, ideally at least 2 weeks before your scheduled library session, to provide ample time for planning and development.
  • In advance of the session, please notify your library partner of any relevant student or faculty accessibility concerns and/or accommodations as early as possible. Tredway librarians make an ongoing effort to enhance the accessibility of the library and our services, but advance notice allows us to more successfully prepare for any specific accommodations and needs. Please note: the librarians would like to maintain and respect the privacy of students, so please share any access needs without individual student information or disability histories.
  • It is expected that the faculty member be in attendance during library sessions, barring any unforeseen complications. Students are more likely to stay engaged when their course instructor is present and participates in the session.

Best Practices

  • Introduce students to the assignment or learning objective(s) prior to the library session. This will ensure that students are familiar with the expectations, have considered possible approaches, and can use the allotted time more effectively.
  • Actively participate in the library session. Your participation will encourage students to engage as well and emphasizes the importance of the skills they are learning.
  • Contact your librarian partner as early as possible to guarantee availability; most library sessions are arranged in the first few weeks of the semester.
  • Communicate any specific space preferences to your librarian partner while scheduling the session. The library offers three spaces for general instruction: two class spaces on the second floor of the library (seat ~24-32 each) and a computer lab on the fourth floor (seats 24) near the Reading/Writing Center and You Belong Lounge. If these spaces are not available or do not meet your space request, instruction may also be scheduled to meet in your assigned classroom.
  • Unless otherwise arranged with the librarian, ask students to bring personal devices when the session is scheduled to meet in the 2nd floor instruction areas. There are only a few available computers and laptops on the 2nd floor for use during class sessions, so students are advised to bring their own when possible.

Limitations

While we try to fill every instruction request, ultimately it remains up to the discretion of each instruction librarian. Requests may be declined or renegotiated for the following reasons:

  • Librarian availability. Your librarian partner will work with you to find another available time if your requested dates do not align with their availability or would overwhelm their existing instruction load for a given period. 
  • Space. There are a limited number of instruction spaces available in the library and scheduling occurs on a first-come, first-served basis. If the requested session requires physical library resources and there are no available instruction spaces, the librarian will work with you to find an alternative time to meet.
  • Connection to learning outcomes. Coordinate with your librarian partner to center the session around a specific assignment or learning objective. If it is unclear how the library session would develop student learning, or if there is no connection to research and/or information literacy, the librarian may contact you for clarification or may decline the library session.

Special Collections Consideration

The Special Collections reading room/classroom prioritizes individual and group research using Special Collections materials. Occasionally, Special Collections will approve other uses for the reading room/classroom. Please reach out to the special collections librarian to learn about appropriate uses.

J-Term

To schedule library instruction during J-term, you are encouraged to contact your library liaison during the second half of the Fall semester; while sessions may be requested during the J-term period, they are more likely to be granted when scheduled in advance.